Ice Cream and Allies
by PandaInTheStars
Summary: Valerie is starting to see Phantom in a new light. When he asks her to go to the ice cream parlour with him friendships will be tested, secrets revealed, and new alliances formed.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The gas that warms your house doesn't actually have a smell. They mix something in with it to give it that distinct gas odor. If there's a gas leak, you'll smell that stuff and instantly get out of the house.

But no one smelled it that day.

The explosion of the apartment building on 42nd street echoed around Amity Park. Instantly there were three people on the scene: the fire department, Valerie Gray, and, surprisingly to the latter, Danny Phantom.

It was a race against time as more and more of the building collapsed with people trapped inside. Valerie expertly maneuvered her glider around the debris, picking up the fallen people and carrying them to safety. Phantom was working just as hard. He flew, intangibly, through the wreckage, saving as many people as possible.

At one point, Valerie and Phantom returned to the safety of the road at the same time, one carrying an old woman, the other a small child. Phantom handed the baby over to the sobbing parents before turning and lapsing into a violent coughing fit.

The smoke didn't bother Valerie; it couldn't get to her through her suit. But apparently Phantom breathed and his dozens of trips into the burning building had caught up with him.

Valerie watched as emergency personnel hurried over to him, offering an oxygen tank. He declined. It would slow him down. He shook his head and flew back into the fray.

* * *

><p>Ash fell to the street like snow. Everyone was safe. Everyone was accounted for. The apartment building was barely more than smoldering rubble. The firefighters were taking care of the last few embers. Only then, when he was assured that everyone was okay, did Phantom accept treatment.<p>

He was now sitting on a stretcher, taking deep breaths of pure oxygen. Valerie approached him. "Nice job," she said, a smile tugging at her face.

Phantom smiled weakly and gave her a thumbs-up. Then he started coughing so forcefully that he had to take the mask off. "Ugh," he groaned, holding his head in his hands. "I don't feel so good."

"You don't look so good, either. You should really let those guys help you, you know."

Phantom shook his head. "No…no hospitals. I can't…no." Suddenly a bright light emanated out of Phantom's chest. Valerie took a step back, startled. Phantom seemed to be fighting the light, groaning loudly. Eventually the light subsided and he sighed in relief.

"Phantom, what was that?"

He shook his ghostly head before passing out.

* * *

><p>Valerie stood protectively outside the room Phantom was sleeping in. He had said no hospitals, but, well, he needed help. Why was she still here? The doctors had said she could go long ago. But, she just couldn't leave him. Especially after they took his burnt suit off. Him, lying there in nothing but a paper dress and his underwear, he seemed so helpless, defenseless, weak. And no one can abandon a sick puppy, which is what he reminded Valerie of.<p>

He was so mysterious. She knew he was evil. He had to be. He was a ghost. And yet he hadn't stopped working at that building until he was sure everyone was safe. He was a ghost. And yet he breathed. He had a skeleton, a corporeal body, organs. But no pulse. He was a ghost. He had no feelings. And yet he had nearly burst into tears of joy when he heard everyone was accounted for.

He was a ghost.

And yet he looked so _human._

His eyes flicked open, taking in the confusing surroundings. Valerie jumped, and instantly fled through the door and into his room.

Phantom's eyes flared when he saw her; he obviously considered her a threat. "Val – I mean, Red Huntress!" he stumbled and fell out of his hospital bed with a thud. He groaned, scrambled to his feet, and fled towards the window. He coughed and fell to the ground before he ever got there. "Please," he coughed again. "Please, don't hurt me."

Valerie approached him and grabbed his wrist. "I'm not gonna hurt you, Phantom. I just want some answers to some questions." The ghost nodded and then looked down at himself.

"Where's my suit?" he asked, indignantly.

"In the trash. It was so burnt it was basically rags."

"Oh," he conceded. Then he mumbled to himself, "Now I got to get a new one."

"And that brings me to my first question, Phantom," she said. "You're suit was actual spandex."

"Yeah? So?"

"I mean, most ghosts' clothing is just manifestations of ectoplasm. You were wearing actual fabric. Why? And how?"

"Well, uh, you see…" Phantom stuttered. He was interrupted, however, by one of the doctors entering the hospital room.

"Mr. Phantom!" he called. "You're awake. Good. The hospital was wondering if you would answer a few questions about your condition. Also, we would like to run a few tests…"

Valerie felt the ghost breathing heavily next to her. "Uh, uh," he whispered. "You're not getting me now." Valerie didn't realize she was still holding Phantom's wrist. A cold sensation overtook her body and she shivered. She looked down and saw that her body wasn't there. Panicking, Valerie didn't realize Phantom was pulling her towards the window.

She gasped as she didn't feel solid glass behind her. She didn't feel anything. She watched the flabbergasted doctor's face as she backed up _through _the window.

And then they were falling.

Valerie screamed as they fell from the eighth floor of the hospital. Windows streaked past her. Phantom wasn't doing anything to stop their rapid descent. "Anytime you want to fly us away from here, Phantom?" she screeched.

Phantom appeared to be battling as hard as he could to gain altitude. "Can't! Too weak!" he yelled at her.

Valerie huffed in midair. She activated her glider just by thinking about it and soon they were soaring through the air, Phantom clinging to her.

"You don't think very far ahead, do you?" she asked sarcastically.

Phantom grinned sheepishly. "I wasn't going to let them do any tests on me. Experiments," he spat out, as if it were a hateful word.

"So, um, let's go to my place?" Valerie asked tentatively.

Phantom's green eyes looked back at her, surprised. "What, no ectoguns? No taunts and fights and telling me I'm the lowest form of life imaginable? You know what I mean," he added quickly.

Valerie paused for a second. Why was she doing this? Why was she acting so nice? Why wasn't she trying to kill him (figuratively speaking)? Valerie smiled. She knew. "When you saved that little kid's life I knew… I knew you couldn't have done everything everyone says you did. At least not willingly." Her eyes grew cold. "But I still blame you for losing my dad's job."

Phantom nodded, which was something she didn't expect. "Yeah, I understand."

They had reached Valerie's house by now. They flew silently through her window and dropped lightly into her bedroom. Valerie felt very awkward. The ghost boy, her enemy, was in her house. It didn't make sense in her head.

"Well," she started. "Let's get you some clothes." It seemed Phantom actually needed to wear some as opposed to making clothes out of his own ectoplasm. She went to her wardrobe and picked out the baggiest t-shirt and jeans she could find. She also brought some of her dad's old flip-flops.

She came back to see Phantom looking over her bedroom. But to her surprise he was looking at it with a practiced eye, as if he had been there before. She watched him smile at odd objects that meant plenty to her but should mean nothing to him. He carefully avoided the wall with the poster of most wanted ghosts. After all, his name was at the top. Shrugging it off, she brought forward the clothes.

"Here, we can't have you flying around in a bed sheet all day. You'd look like an actual ghost." Phantom looked up at her. Valerie held a stern face but inside she was blushing. She hadn't meant to reveal that. He just looked so _human. _If she hadn't seen him throw ectoblasts around she would have thought he was some punk who decided to die his hair white.

But it was hard to ignore that ethereal glow he always had.

Phantom seemed to ignore that slip and reached for the clothes. "Thanks," he said. The instant he touched them they vanished along with himself. Valerie watched fascinated as the hospital dress appeared and floated to the ground. Valerie realized Phantom was changing in front of her. She wanted to gag and chuckle at the same time.

A minute later he reappeared. "Ugh. Girls' clothes." He winked at her. "Thanks again."

"No problem."

Phantom nodded. "Well, I should be going now. I think I can fly. Besides, I need to get a new suit." He gestured, grinning, to Valerie's clothes.

"Hey, you still haven't answered my questions," Valerie reprimanded, putting her hands on her hips.

"Uh, right. Well, how 'bout I meet you tomorrow?" he asked, surprising the huntress. She was expecting something along the lines of 'catch me if you can.'

"Well, sure," she agreed, extremely surprised. "Where do you want to meet?"

"I can pick you up here. We could… go somewhere."

"Where?" she asked, suspiciously.

"Um, the mall? The ice cream parlor? I'll pick you up, say three?"

Valerie actually smiled. "That sounds fine."

Phantom smiled back and made towards the wall.

"Phantom!" she called, surprising herself. He turned around, smile frozen. "If you give me one reason to believe you're evil, I won't hesitate in hunting you down. No matter how human-like you are, you're still a ghost."

The smile dropped from his face. He nodded sadly. "Yeah, I know."

And with that, he phased through the wall, and was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Valerie was sitting in her bedroom. She huffed, exasperated. It was 3:10. She hadn't expected Phantom to show up, had she? She had been staring at her bedroom wall for over half an hour, waiting for the ghost boy to phase through. But he never came. Valerie would give it another five minutes and then she would call it quits. She sat there, twiddling her thumbs.

The doorbell rang. She let her dad answer it. After a while her father called up the stairs. "Valerie! There's a kid here, says he knows you. He says he's picking you up to go to the mall."

Valerie sat there, dumbstruck. Phantom rang the doorbell? Her dad didn't recognize him? Maybe it wasn't him. Aw, heck, of course it was. Phantom rang the doorbell?

"What's his name?" she called back down. She had to make sure.

There was a pause. "He says his name is P. Hantom," her father answered doubtfully. Valerie nearly laughed out loud. So Phantom used his witty banter in situations other than fighting? Interesting.

"I'm coming!" She was about to run downstairs, then stopped. She dove under her bed and pulled out some of the smallest ectoweapons she could find. You could never be too careful. She still didn't trust Phantom completely.

Then she rushed downstairs. "Thanks, Dad!" she called to her father, then stared, her mouth agape at the figure in the doorway. That's why her dad didn't recognize Phantom.

First of all, he was wearing a baseball cap to hide his astonishing shock of white hair. He wore it facing forwards. Good, Valerie thought. He knew what baseball caps were _actually for. _He had a blue t-shirt with a spiraling design spreading from his shoulder to his waist. He wore dark skinny jeans and black converse shoes. His ethereal glow was still there, but it was easy to look over.

Valerie stood there, mouth still wide open. It was weird enough seeing the ghost in a hospital gown or her own shirt and pants, but seeing him in _ordinary clothes _took her breath away.

"Uh, right," she said, breaking the awkward silence. She turned to her dad's suspicious look. "Uh, me and my friend…" She thought for a moment. "…Percy… are just going to the mall to hang out a bit."

Mr. Gray's stormy look cleared. "All right. Be careful." He smiled at the boy in the doorway. "Have fun, you two."

Then Valerie and Phantom were alone on the doorstep. "Percy?" he questioned, cracking a smile.

"Hey, I was under pressure." She grinned, then quickly hit it in a blank expression. "So, are we going to the mall?"

"Uh, yeah," Phantom said, chuckling nervously. He rubbed the back of his neck. Valerie blinked. That gesture was so Danny-like. Danny _Fenton. _Not Danny _Phantom. _The boy she had had a crush on for quite some time. For the first time Valerie noticed the similarity between the two names. She turned it over in her mind. Blushing, she shrugged it off as a coincidence.

They started walking towards the mall. The ghost-hunter realized she had never seen Phantom walk on the ground for this long before. It was strange. "Oh, yeah!" the ghost suddenly said. He brought out a package wrapped in brown paper. "Here are your clothes. Thanks for letting me borrow them."

"Oh, thanks," Valerie said, placing it under her shoulder. They were approaching the mall now. They walked on the concrete sidewalk to the glass doors and swung them open.

Watching Phantom in ordinary clothes in an ordinary setting was like watching him on another planet. He fit in. "When did you die?" she blurted out, unexpectedly. "Uh, sorry. If it's like, a hard subject or something, but you said you'd answer my questions."

Phantom nodded. "No, it's fine. And about a year ago. Why?"

"Well, you seem to know the time period well." Phantom was leading them towards the ice cream parlor. "Heck, you seem to know Amity Park Mall well. I mean, if you died a hundred years ago you'd probably think things were pretty strange. "

"Yeah. I lived here before I, um, well, died."

"Really? Who were you?"

Phantom didn't answer. Valerie grimaced. "_Fine. _We'll leave that unanswered _for now._ Anyway, we need to pick what flavor we want."

They stood in line patiently until it was their turn to order. Valerie picked lemon meringue and Phantom chose double fudge with extra chocolate sprinkles. They sat down at one of the small round tables that surrounded the small parlor.

For the first few minutes they said nothing, enjoying their ice cream. Valerie frowned. "You eat?"

"Uh huh."

"But, how's that even possible? I mean you shouldn't have saliva let alone a digestive tract."

"U – I – oo," Phantom replied, fudge filling his mouth.

Valerie smiled. "You must really like fudge."

"My dad really likes – liked it. I guess it rubbed off on me." He blushed, as if he had said too much.

Valerie's brow furrowed. She had never thought about a ghost having a family. Was it possible? Unless…

"Phantom, are your parents still alive?" she asked, a frown emanating in her voice.

The ghost licked his lips, but more out of nervousness than savoring the delicious fudge. He seemed to contemplate the question, weighing the pros of cons of answering it truthfully. "Uh, yeah, they are."

Valerie leaned forward on the table, curious. "Do I know them?"

Phantom was actually sweating. Chalk that up on the list of things the ghost shouldn't be able to do.

"Yes."

"Who are they?" Valerie was almost touching Phantom's face, she had leaned forward so far. She quickly retreated. "I mean, do they still live in Amity?"

Phantom took short breaths. "Yes, they still live in Amity. No, I'm not going to tell you who they are."

"Not yet, you're not," Valerie grinned, a demonic smile brushing her face for a second.

Silence filled the air for a while. "Um, I'll pay for the ice cream," Phantom finally offered to the conversation, digging into the pocket of his jeans.

"With what?" Valerie asked, confused.

The ghost pulled out a wallet and out if it a ten dollar bill. "With money, what else?"

"Yeah, but where do you get it? I mean, you obviously don't work for it. You don't steal it do you?" Her eyebrow went up suspiciously.

"No!" he said indignantly. He went up to the counter to pay. When he came back, Valerie bombarded him with more questions.

"Then where do you get it? Oh wait, you're not going to answer that one either, are you?" Valerie smirked.

Phantom smiled, sadly.

"Hey, you were involved with those robberies a while back, though, weren't you?" The smirk changed into a suspicious scowl. "Explain that."

Phantom took a big breath. "Look. I was being controlled by this guy called Freakshow. Remember that gothic circus that came into town? Well, he was the ringmaster. He had this orb thing that could control ghosts. He made me steal all that stuff." The ghost's eyes clouded over, as if it was painful to remember. "I fought it, but it was too powerful." He shuddered. "Anyway, the orb shattered and Freakshow was arrested. They gave all the stuff back."

Valerie frowned. The ghost had names, dates. It seemed like a truthful explanation. But he still wasn't completely acquitted.

"And what about that time you kidnapped the mayor?"

Phantom sighed. He had explained this story _way _too many times. "The mayor was been overshadowed by this ghost called Walker. _He_ was the one holding _me_ captive."

Valerie frowned. So the ghost had an excuse for that one as well. There was only one other thing Valerie held against him. And it was also the most important. "What about Axion Labs?"

This time, Phantom leaned forward. He had obviously been preparing for this. "First of all, I'm sorry Valerie. I'm so sorry. I never meant what happened to happen. And second of all, it wasn't my dog."

The breath caught in Valerie's throat.

"He just had this sort of Jekyll-and-Hyde kind of attitude. Also, I was careless. I didn't mean for the lab to get messed up. I mean, he was just looking for his squeaky toy." He chuckled, nervously. "Kind of cute, right?"

Valerie just stared at him.

"So, I guess this means I'm not forgiven?"

Valerie glared at him. "No, ghost. You ruined my life. I'll forgive you for that other stuff, but that, _that… _That was unforgivable."

The ghost and the ghost hunter looked at each other for a while. Phantom was the first to look away.

_Unforgivable._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Valerie and Phantom had by now finished their ice creams and were walking through the mall in an awkward silence. They both felt guilty for different reasons. Valerie, for dumping her life problems on the ghost even though it wasn't entirely his fault and Phantom, for causing her life problems.

Valerie stopped mid-walk when she realized Phantom wasn't beside her. She looked back to see the ghost standing in front of one of the larger, not-very-expensive department stores. "What is it?" she asked, surprised.

Phantom looked at her. "Huh? Oh, nothing. I just need to run in here and get something. I'll be right back." Before Valerie could say anything, the ghostboy ran into the store and disappeared.

Valerie face-palmed. She hadn't really expected the ghost to hang around for long had she? He had probably left the instant he was out of her sight. Growling, Valerie walked away. He was _definitely _getting a beating if they ever fought again. He at least could have had the decency to say goodbye.

"Hey, wait up!" Valerie spun on her heal to see Phantom running towards her. He was carrying a small bag. "I said I'd be right back. You didn't have to leave."

Valerie blushed, realizing she had been the one bailing out on him. "Uh, sorry. What have you got there?" she asked, quickly trying to change the subject.

"Oh, since my last suit got burned up, I needed a new one," he said, as if that explained everything.

"Wait a minute. Back up. You buy your suits in a department store?" Valerie asked, incredulous.

"Well, not my first few, obviously. But ever since 'Danny Phantom' became popular, they've been making 'Danny Phantom' suits. It's pretty handy if mine is beyond repair or something." He shrugged. "Plus, they're only like ten bucks. It's much cheaper than buying a new hazmat suit, putting the logo on since Sam would freak if it wasn't there, etc."

Valerie blinked. "Did you just say Sam?"

"Huh? No! What makes you think I said Sam? I don't know a Sam," he answered, a little too quickly.

"Uh, right," she answered, doubtful.

Now they were rounding the corner and found themselves face to face with the technogeeks's favorite haunt: Wired Wiring. An especially huge sign advertised free goes on the new Xbox Kinect (A/N: I wrote this story when the Kinect had just come out). Valerie flinched in surprise when Phantom started jumping up and down. "Ohmygosh! I've been waiting sooo long to try that! C'mon, we gotta go see!"

He grabbed Valerie's wrist and practically dragged her into the store. Valerie blanched. Phantom liked video games? Well, he seemed the type. He must keep up with the latest video game news if he knew about this new system.

Valerie laughed out loud. "What is it?" Phantom asked.

She sniggered. "Nothing. Just imagining you, in a tree, reading some tech magazine."

The ghost chuckled nervously. "Yeah. Heh. Not like I do that… at all…"

Despite the humongous sign at the front of the store, the actual gaming system was at the very back and there were next to no people around. The flat screen glowed, offering games like Ping Pong, bowling, tennis, and boxing.

"We can do a two player game. You want to play me?" Phantom asked, his eyes glinting mischievously.

"Oh, you are on, ghostboy," Valerie answered. Phantom selected boxing and they settled into their fighting positions.

The screen showed the two players: Phantom in blue and Valerie in red. The two boxers squared off in their virtual ring and the crowd of pixels cheered them on. Then, the bell rang, and the players started giving each other a flurry of shots. Valerie used quick, strategic uppercuts and blows to the chest. Phantom poured on his superhuman speed and hit Valerie every chance he got, though he wasn't as powerful.

Valerie's strategy was winning and Phantom's green bar that showed his energy was slowly turning red. Growling, Phantom's arms turned into barely more than blurs as he desperately tried to get past Valerie's blocks.

By this time her bar was now going yellow. Valerie descended into Phantom's method and gave up her blocks and uppercuts to furious punches. Now their bars were going down equally fast. But Phantom was still going to lose. He didn't realized his hands were starting to glow green.

There was a bright flash and a shower of sparks when the flat screen exploded. And then silence fell on the two warriors, still panting from their exertion. Phantom looked down at his hands as the last wisps of green energy disappeared. Then he let out a short, sweet spew of profanities. Valerie was tempted to cover her ears.

"I am so grounded. How much did that cost?" the ghost asked, after his tirade had finished.

Valerie walked over to the system and read the price tag. "Well, at least you didn't hit the Kinect. You would've been paying a lot more. You just got the TV."

"Well that makes me feel better," Phantom replied, sarcastically. "How much do I owe?"

"$699," Valerie replied, smirking.

Phantom slapped his forehead. He reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a scrap of paper and a stubby pencil. Valerie watched as he scribbled a hasty 'IOU' on it. He then placed the piece of paper by the destroyed TV.

"Wait, did you just say you would be grounded?" Valerie asked, suspicion flaring up.

"What? No! Anyway, we better get out of her before security comes. After all, we don't want to add another thing on the list that proves 'Phantom is an evil ghost bent on destroying the town!'" he sighed, putting his hands up in air quotes. And with that, he walked through the back wall of the shop.

Valerie raised an eyebrow. Thirty seconds later Phantom reappeared, grabbed her wrist and brought her through the wall as well, out into the parking lot. Phantom turned them tangible and then rubbed the bridge of his nose. "It's gonna take like a million allowances to repay that."

"Okay, Phantom, I've had enough," Valerie said, losing it.

"Look, I'm sorry. It wasn't your fault. I'll pay for it. It was an accident."

"I'm not talking about the TV. You say you have a family. You breathe, you eat, you sweat, you shop, you have money. You mention Sam. You say you have an allowance. You can get grounded. You say your family is still alive and I know them. I want answers, Phantom. Tell me. I know all of this is connected. What am I missing?" Valerie yelled, emphasizing her point by waving her hands in the air.

"I – I can't tell you," the ghost answered, shoving his hands into his pocket and looking down.

"Yes you can! Please, if it's a secret or something, I won't tell anyone. I can handle it."

"That's just it," Phantom said. He looked up and his sparkling emerald eyes met Valerie's own forest green. "I don't think you can." He sighed. "You hate me, right?"

"Well," Valerie replied, thinking. "I'm not so sure anymore."

Phantom took a shuddering breath. "Well, that makes things easier. Can we go to that alley, over there? In case someone hears us."

Valerie nodded, suspicious. She surreptitiously checked for her ectoweapons, in case Phantom tried something.

Once they were in the alley, Phantom made a last check to see if anyone was listening. He licked his lips and began. "The reason I eat and sleep and sweat is because… I'm not completely dead."

"What?" Valerie screeched. "What do you mean?"

"The ghosts call me a halfa: half alive, half dead, not really either. I have ghost powers but I still have human emotions."

"How? How's that possible?" Valerie asked, backing up a little. This, this didn't make sense. This made no sense.

"There was an accident in my parent's lab. It made me… like this," Phantom continued, gesturing to himself.

"But how are you stable?" No sense. Absolutely no sense.

"Well, Jazz says the only reason I'm stable is because I have a human form and a ghost form."

"Jazz? Do you mean Jazz Fenton? A human form? What does your human half look like?" The gears in Valerie's mind were churning fast. He had said Sam and Jazz. Sam Manson? Jazz Fenton? "What – ? What do you – ?"

Phantom didn't stop. "I've been like this for a year, Valerie, before you even knew ghosts existed. I have never meant to hurt you. Please. In all our fights you had to notice that I never targeted you. I always shot the board because I knew your suit could withstand impact. I am not evil."

"But, you said Sam! And Jazz! And the only parents I know who have a lab are – "

"And things only got more complicated when you liked my human half but hated my ghost half."

"Liked your human half?"

"And I thought that maybe if I could prove to you I wasn't evil you would like all of me."

"But, but that would mean…"

"I'm so sorry, Valerie."

Valerie put her hand over her mouth. The ghost hunter and the ghost. The girl and the boy. The way he rubbed the back of his neck. His laugh. His smile. A human half. Sam. Jazz. Parent's lab. Valerie called up a mental image of the only boy she had ever truly liked. Raven hair and blue eyes. She placed the image over the ghost she thought she hated. White. Black. Blue. Green. Danny Phantom. Danny Fenton.

Phantom.

Fenton.

Phantom.

Fenton.

Valerie took her hand away from her mouth and took another step back.

"Danny?"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"_Danny?"_

Valerie felt gentle, cold arms wrap around her. At first she fought back. What was he doing? Attacking her? Then she heard his soft, comforting voice in her ear. "I'm so sorry." Valerie eventually returned the hug, tears streaming down her face.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she choked out, sobbing.

"I was afraid of how you would react. I thought you would hate me," he explained, stroking her hair.

"Do…Do your parents know?" she gasped.

"No," he conceded after an agonizing silence.

"They don't?" Valerie pulled away, shaking. "You hypocrite! Your telling me when you haven't told your own parents! Oh, and I assume you've told Sam and Tucker as well."

"Valerie, just calm down. I can explain," Phantom – Danny – Fenton – urgh! said, his hands raised defensively.

"Calm down? Calm down! CALM DOWN! Sure, I'll CALM DOWN when I've just heard my friend is a ghost… kid… THING!" Valerie screamed.

"Valerie, please. Someone will hear. Look, if it'll make you feel better…" Valerie watched in shock as a flash of light enveloped Phantom. His blue shirt turned into Danny Fenton's signature red and white T. The baseball cap disappeared and the white hair changed to black. Valerie blinked and stumbled backwards.

"Get away from me! You're not even human, are you? You're a ghost!" Valerie screeched, before running out of the alley. She activated her ghost hunting equipment and hovered, staring back at the boy who was her worst enemy and only crush.

Hiding her tear-stained face, she kicked her jet sled into high gear and zoomed towards home as fast as possible.

"Valerie, wait!" Danny called after hr. But it was no use.

She was gone.

* * *

><p>Valerie lay on her bed, sobbing. She stared at the two photos on her pillow. One was of the hateful, evil ghost, Danny Phantom. The other was of the sweet, kind, clumsy Danny Fenton. Her mind wanted to separate the two, make them into two different people. But they weren't. Danny Phantom and Danny Fenton were one and the same.<p>

Why hadn't he told her? More importantly, why hadn't he told his parents? She hadn't really given him time to explain, but it was just too much. She just couldn't take this all in. All this time, she had been hunting her only true friend? It didn't make any sense. She wouldn't do that. But she did. Did this make her the bad guy?

She scrunched the two photos together and threw them in the trash. He was right. She did hate him. All of him. At least she did right now, sitting on her bed, hiccupping.

"Danny," she sniffled.

The doorbell rang. A fresh set of sobs broke out. He wasn't going to talk to her, was he? She wasn't sure she could handle it.

Her worst fears were realized. "Valerie!" Mr. Gray called up the stairs. "It's Danny! He's coming upstairs!"

Valerie jumped up and quickly locked the door before returning to her bed. She wiped her eyes as quickly as possible, but she only succeeded in spreading the moisture over her face. Valerie Gray was strong. She wouldn't cry in front of him. _She wouldn't. _

"Valerie?" She heard his voice, on the opposite side of the door. "Valerie, it's Danny."

"Danny who?" Valerie asked, darkly.

She heard him sigh. "Valerie, please open this door."

She didn't answer.

"Valerie, if you don't open this door, I'll just phase through."

"Don't you use your powers on me, _ghost._" She heard a noise, but couldn't place it. He said he still had human emotions. What was he feeling right now? What was she feeling? Hurt? Betrayal?

Understanding?

She had never told Danny she was the Red Huntress. Maybe that was unfair of her. After all, he probably went through the same things she did, as a ghost hunter. It wasn't fair that he had told Sam, Tucker, and Jazz, though, and not her.

"Please, Valerie. I can explain everything."

Valerie nodded. Then, realizing Danny couldn't see her, she jumped up and unlocked the door. Then she rushed back to her bed.

Danny opened the door and stepped through. "Valerie, I'm sorry."

"No," she said. This was mostly her fault anyway. She wiped away the last of her tears. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have called you a ghost and I shouldn't have run off like that. It's just a lot to take in, that's all."

Danny smiled weakly. "Yeah, tell me about it. Try waking up one morning a human and a half-ghost the next.

"You never really explained how that happened. Or why Sam, Tucker, and Jazz knew and I didn't," Valerie muttered accusingly.

"Okay, I'll start at the beginning. You remember around the start of freshman year, I was out of school for a week?"

Valerie nodded.

"Well, my parents had just built this ghost portal. Only it didn't work. They were crushed. Sam dared me to go in, and I have to admit I was pretty curious myself. Anyway, I went in and it somehow turned on while I was inside." He paused, biting his lip.

Valerie's eyes narrowed. "Did it hurt?"

Danny nodded, almost imperceptibly. "I died, sort of. Ectoplasm got into my DNA and I came out…" He let the white rings pass over him, leaving Phantom in his place. "That's why Sam and Tucker knew. They were there when it happened. Jazz found out on her own." He changed back. "You were the first person I ever told."

"And your parents?" All the doubt had left her voice.

"They've hated ghosts all their life. They make daily threats to rip me apart molecule by molecule," Danny said mimicking his dad's deep bass.

Well, maybe that was something different between them. At least Valerie's father didn't want to kill her. And he knew her secret. And before she knew it, Valerie was reaching out and hugging him. "Oh, Danny. I'm sorry I fought you and thought you were evil. I'm sorry I yelled at you. You've been through the same things as me and so, so much more." She sighed, nestling her head in the crook of his neck. "Can you forgive me?"

"Only if you forgive me," he said, pulling away.

Valerie smiled and touched his hand. "I guess I should be grateful. I mean, Dad is. Now he has more free time, time to study for a better job. More time to spend with me. I guess my stubbornness didn't let me see that. I forgive you."

"I forgive you, too."

The two sat there, for once enjoying a comfortable silence.

The silence was broken by a gasp by Danny. Valerie watched, surprised, as blue mist left his mouth. A few seconds later, her ghost alarm went off.

Danny sighed, then smiled. "Friends?"

"Always."

Danny changed into his ghost form and Valerie activated her suit. They stood there for a second, and understanding passed between them. So the ghost and the ghost hunter flew off into the sky.

But this time, they were allies.


End file.
